Testing Results & Conclusion
Comparison Products
We compared the NH-U9 TR4-SP3 with its brethren, the NH-U12S TR4-SP3 and NH-U14S TR4-SP3, along with the Cooler Master MasterAir MA621P. Each cooler ran through tests atop our eight-core 1900X Threadripper processor, running on an MSI X399 Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard inside our Corsair Carbide 760T chassis.
Immediately, we saw the compact NH-U9 keeping our overclocked Threadripper CPU just about as cool as the much larger MasterAir MA621P. Interestingly enough, the NH-U9 also went toe-to-toe with its larger sibling, the NH-U12S, narrowly edging past it in 100% fan speed thermal load testing.
We already knew the compact size of the NH-U9 TR4-SP3 required use of a pair of 92mm fans, which are rated up to 2,000RPM by Noctua, so this fan speed graph gave us zero surprises.
On the other hand, we were surprised to see that the pair of 92mm fans on the NH-U9 TR4-SP3 kicked up similar registered noise levels to the dual 120mm fan MasterAir MA621P, although both were in the top two of our fastest fan speeds on the previous graph. The Noctua fans seemed to make better use of their fan speed for airflow.
Higher noise levels and a close thermal performance mean the NH-U9 and MA621P saw some hits when it came to acoustic efficiency.
Every cooler tested here registered under 30 decibels (adjusted), meaning we’re splitting hairs on a nearly silent cooler quartet. Priced at $70 at the time of writing, the NH-U9 TR4-SP3 sits just under the average unit price of the group as a whole.
Thermal imaging from the FLIR One Pro camera shows distinct differences of increased heat buildup at the tips of the heatpipes and cooling tower at 50% fan speeds. Alternatively, we see a larger volume of ejected thermal air mass around the top and sides of the cooler at 100% fan speeds, which is expected with higher airflow.
Conclusion
Noctua served up a trio of great performing air coolers designed specifically for AMD’s flagship processors, Threadripper, and its server equivalent, Epyc. As we begin to see market additions for slimmer workstation chassis and smaller enthusiast motherboards to support the TR4 and SP3 sockets, the need to have a high-performance, compact cooling solution continues to grow. The fact that the NH-U9 TR4-SP3 performs like coolers much larger is both brilliant and promising.
Noctua has shown that excellent air cooling does not require a massive cooling tower to be affixed within a PC case in order to achieve overclocking goals. This cooler steps in as The Little Engine That Could by doing the same job just as well, or even better, than larger cooling options on the market
MORE: Best CPU Cooling
MORE: How To Choose A CPU Cooler
MORE: All Cooling Content